


Lemon Pop

by pporksodaa



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Emmeline is the name we use for belgium and i am in luv, Gilbert is a single dad deep in his feels bc his son is a literal ball of sunshine, I have no excuse for this, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Ludwig is a coraline stan don't @ me, Magnus is our denmark, Prussia/Liechtenstein mention, THIS IS NOT A ROMANTIC FIC BETWEEN BELGIUM AND LUDWIG AT ALL, Tavas is Lithuania, i also apologize in advance for the german and dutch i used if its wrong, i very well MAY start a series about this but we shall see, ive been neglecting my language studies so i just used google translate lol, ludwig is autistic and one of his fave interests is animals and nature, probably not, this is from an au canon a friend and i made so keep that in mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-18
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2019-06-12 08:50:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15336252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pporksodaa/pseuds/pporksodaa
Summary: A little peek into the world a friend and I have built for an RP/world building fun time.Emmeline and Ludwig spend some time together, enjoying the fall weather in the forest around their cabin. Emme reflects upon how much Ludwig really means to her and how much of a son she sees him as.This is not a romantic fic between Emmeline and Ludwig at all.





	Lemon Pop

**Author's Note:**

> Because this is so deep into an AU, and we have our AU canon established, there are a few things I feel I should explain: 
> 
> LUDWIG AND EMME ARE NOT IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP!!! SHE'S LIKE HIS MOM !!!  
> Ludwig is 16 and Emme is 25.   
> Ludwig has Sam as a service dog because in this AU, he has epilepsy.  
> I am well aware service dogs aren't rlly supposed to 'awoo' but I....I couldn't help myself.   
> Lili died a year after Ludwig was born, and Gilbert has raised him every since.   
> I think that's all ya need to know to just read this :)))))) LMK if you have any questions. 
> 
> Kudos and ( nice ) comments are appreciated!

The gentle tunes of a piano. 

 

The fluttering ‘ting’s of wind chimes. 

 

The elegant plucking of a harp. 

 

The full bodied crescendo of a whole orchestra. 

 

Emme felt it all with she was with Ludwig. She didn’t feel it the way she felt with Magnus, but there was a love she had for Ludwig that there were few words for. No poetry was enough. No hours of searching in a thesaurus would find the right word, the right feeling. When she looked at Ludwig, and when he looked at her, she was over the moon. 

 

Ludwig was so interesting to be with. Even if she didn’t understand every single about him, and couldn’t hope to pick apart his mind, there was nothing she wouldn’t do for him. 

 

He was a curious kind of soul; neat and particular but curious. To him, every question had an answer and he was prepared to do what he could to find it. It was the textbook definition of a child. The wonder. The fascination. The willingness to believe. He believed anything Gilbert said until proven otherwise, just like a child often did with their parents. It did help that Ludwig was very childish in nature because of things about of his control, but Emme was convinced he was born into the desire to follow knowledge where it took him. 

 

Like the pages of a book. 

 

Like the pins in a map. 

 

Like the footprints in the damp ground. 

 

The footprints they were currently making, in fact. 

 

They were in the forest that surrounded the cabin they were staying in currently, having left Gilbert and Magnus to do whatever they did in their spare time. Probably eat and sleep. Or complain about Emme and Ludwig not being there. The thought was endearing. 

 

Not as endearing as Ludwig in his bright yellow raincoat putting a fat exclamation point on his all-black outfit, carrying his black leather satchel on his shoulder and prodding the area beyond with what he called a ‘seeking stick’. And Sam trotted at his side in little yellow booties that were absolutely the cutest dog thing in this world. Emme was glad to just follow them and listen to what facts or such he told her, keeping track of how far they were going and tacking on fluorescent slips of paper to the trees every few yards as Magnus had recommended. The autumn day would fall to evening and night far more quickly than the previous summer. There was a path, but Ludwig had insisted they go elsewhere to look for the true treasures. It was hard to tell him no. 

 

“Emmeline, Emmeline, Emmeline,” Ludwig soon called, falling to a crouch just a few feet ahead by a rather large tree with Sam. 

 

Ludwig rarely called her ‘Emme’, and sometimes when he was being more passive aggressive he called her ‘Miss Peeters’. Just like when Gilbert made him upset he called him ‘Father’, rather than ‘Papa’ or ‘Dad’. When Magnus made him upset, he just called him ‘dickhead’ as far as Emme knew. 

 

Emme made her way over, crouching down with him and leaning to see what exactly he had called her attention to. It was a cool rock he held in his hands, smooth and painted over with what seemed to be a fox curled up in black and white. Sam sniffed it curiously, and Ludwig showed it to her and let her lick it a few times before turning it over. On the back, there was an etching in German. 

 

“Oh? What’s this, then?” She asked, raising her eyebrows. “What does it say?”

“ _ Ein Fuchs ist ein Wolf, der Blumen sendet.  _ A fox is a wolf who sends flowers... “ Ludwig told her, running his thumb over the etching. “It says to find another rock like this, paint it, and leave it for someone else to find. Oh! Can we do it? Can we do it? Can we do it?”

Emme watched him and felt herself smiling, nodding enthusiastically. “Of course! Isn’t that cute? I bet we can find something like this by the water, so let’s get back on the path and go there, okay?” She said, standing.

 

Ludwig nodded and put the rock carefully into his bag, following her back to the path. He  kept the stick in one hand, waving it in front of himself and his other hand slipped into Emme’s to hold. The day wasn’t too cold, but it was chilly enough to warrant the sweaters they both wore and the wool lining of Emme’s leggings. His hand was warm, though, balmy and soft from the lovely creams and oils he used to wash his hands after painting. 

 

“Are you enjoying our trip so far, Luddi?” She asked as they walked, gently swinging their hands between them. 

Ludwig nodded. “Yes. It’s very pretty here. And very quiet.”

“It really is! I like the fall, but I do wonder how much prettier it’d be if there weren’t leaves sticking all over my shoes and...well, everything just seems kind of brown, don’t you think? Especially out here in the forest.”

“No. Unless you have deuteranopia, which is a type of red-green colorblindness. And it is very unlikely, as only about 0.5 percent of females with Northern European ancestry have colorblindness.”

“...why do you know that?”

“Tavas at school has it.”

“Oh. Who is Tavas again?”

“A friend.”

 

Emme chuckled and let the conversation fizzle out, glancing around. It really was kind of bland, but if she looked for longer she was sure there was more to look at. If it was bland, Ludwig certainly would have said so. Maybe she was just a bit too old to really understand the true wonders of nature. The forest in the fall was a bit mysterious, like the long tales of witches and trolls and goblins and nymphs. In the rings of mushrooms, you’d find the Fae. Stacks of rocks were sure signs of witchcraft. Hopefully, if there was any witchcraft it was the good kind and not the kind that made people stand in the some weird basement, facing the corner. 

 

She shivered at the thought, feeling a little more creeped out than she should. It was  _ Magnus’  _ fault for making her watch that stupid Blair Witch movie. Dickhead. Ludwig was onto something with that nickname, huh?

 

No need to think about  _ that _ right now, or she’d just get mad about it again.  _ Dickhead _ . Anyway! Instead, she let her vision roam over large patches of moss and fungi that sprouted in tufts on trees and logs. A thin fog lingered about them, like fallen handfuls of cotton candy. The rain of yesterday still hung on leaves and the lower brush, sprinkling them each time it was disturbed. Everything smelled of earth, a stark contrast to the industrial stench of their home in New York. The ground beneath her boots was damp but not too soft that she went sliding anywhere. 

 

They crested a hill soon, and Ludwig let go of Emme’s hand to hop down the inground steps that lead right back down to the lake. She followed behind, hopping along as well until Ludwig noticed her and began to smile. Together they went down the steps, hopping like frogs, Sam also following along with the small popping up and down motions. She was a service dog, but she was also still a dog and loved to have fun when it was appropriate. 

 

By the time they were at the bottom of the steps, Ludwig had graced her with a full bodied laugh, the one where he snorted and showed his gums when he smiled. In turn, Emme couldn’t help but grin like an idiot, her cheeks ready to split in half until she could finally unravel herself enough to show him how easily he made her happy. 

 

Sam wagged her tail, licking at Ludwig’s hands as they made their way to the water once Ludwig caught his breath. 

 

Ludwig put his bag aside, the stick next to it, and crouched by the water. It was pretty still, but a gentle brush of water ebbed back and forth. Enough to swallow his fingertips in shallow kisses as he skimmed them over the rocks and dirt. Tornadoes of mud and old leaves swirled to life in the wake of his movements. It was all quiet again, as Emme sat on her knees with him and skimmed over the water with her eyes to direct him to ones she thought might work. 

 

“So, what are you gonna paint on it? Do you know yet?” She asked before long. 

Ludwig didn’t say anything, so Emme asked him again.

This time, he gave a quiet hum then tilted his head to either side. “Mm,  _ een citroen _ ,” he murmured.

“How am I not surprised at all?” Emme crooned, shaking her head. “My little lemon pop.”

 

Ludwig glanced at her with that narrow-eyed ‘not again’ look, and she only grinned back at him. Yes, again. As long as she was around to say it, he was her little lemon pop. Her clementine. Her tangerine baby. Her little lemon face. Her kumquat king. No matter how old they got, or how much taller Ludwig grew, or where Ludwig went. If she could find a way to tell him, she would. 

 

He was very much her doe-eyed citrus darling, with cherry cheeks and a smile sweet like candy. 

 

“Are you going to make the whole thing a lemon or a bunch of little lemons?” She asked. “I think maybe a few lemons and some leaves, too. That would be so cute.” 

“One lemon,” Ludwig told her. “It will stand out better since it will be so bright.”

 

Emme gave a nod. That made sense. She continued to watch him for a few moments before grabbing out her phone, making sure the shutter sound was turned off. As he continued feeling around for rocks, rubbing over certain ones then tossing them away like a little bird searching for twigs for his nest-- she began to snap a few pictures of him. Sam jumped in a few of them once she was drawn to the water by seeing little tadpoles. She sniffed her, snorting when her nose was doused in the cold water. 

 

The time passed like that. Ludwig, ever the perfectionist, taking his time to find the one true lemon rock. He scooted into the water just a bit, only enough for the water to touch against the soles of his boots. 

 

Before either of them had noticed, the sun began to climb down from the sky, and the chilly grew cold, frigid enough to force shivers throughout Emme’s entire body. The sounds of the forest awoke with the slumber of the sun. Not insects, but of the breeze through trees oh so evergreen. The shifting of nocturnal fauna. Probably the night time fun of ghosties in their area. Every so often as well, a wolf would howl into the night, echoing far and wide. 

 

The more there was, the more nervous Emme got. It was time to leave. If they stayed much longer, Magnus and Gilbert would become worried. Or danger would approach, in so many unpredictable forms. 

 

Soon, Emme clicked her tongue and stood, dusting her knees off. 

 

“Luddi lemon,” she called to him softly. “It’s time to go. It’s getting late.”

 

Ludwig didn’t hear her, pushing up his sleeves then leaning forward in an awkward downward dog position to reach into the deeper water to grab a rock. For a moment, Emme was so intrigued by this sudden movement that she just stood and watched him. Soon enough he stood with what was probably a rock clasped in his hands. 

 

“I found it,” he told her, voice crisp with excitement. “It’s shaped like a lemon! Come see, come see, come see.” 

 

Emme shuffled over, feeling excited just from watching him. She peered down at the rock, using light from her phone to see it better. It wasn’t so dark they would be lost, but it was dark enough that she felt better with a light on. “Oh! It really is, that’s amazing, Luddi!” She said, patting his shoulder with a nod. “I knew you could find it. Just in time, too. It’s time to go, okay? Get your stuff.” 

 

Ludwig nodded and fell back into a crouch, grabbing the pack of wet wipes from his bag and wiping his the stone and his hands then gathering everything together. Sam trotted over, sniffing the stone when he held it out for her. Seemed fine! 

 

They all looked up at the howl of a wolf, and Sam’s ears perked. 

 

“A wolf, Sammy, a wolf,” Ludwig murmured gently, caressing a hand over her head. “It’s a wolf.” 

 

Sam tilted her head and after detecting no immediate danger, she nudged into Ludwig’s cheek and sat obediently until they left. On their way, Sam perked up again, forcing them to stay where they were to see what was going on. Nothing much. The brush shook and stirred until the anxiety was red hot. And out popped a little fox. It paused at the sight of them and of Sam’s defensive pose in front of Ludwig. True to the many times it had been said, it seemed more afraid of them than they were of it. 

 

Emme’s first reaction was to just let it leave as soon as possible. But Ludwig gasped and began to carefully dig around in his bag to pull out a small container of assorted berries. As cute as it would have been to watch Ludwig feed a fox, she just couldn’t handle the dice roll on that and simply told him to leave the berries there. After leaving a small mound of berries on the ground, they moved on but not without stopping a few yards away to let Ludwig fawn over how cute the fox was as it munched on the berries. 

 

When they arrived back at the cabin, both Magnus and Gilbert perked up from the couch to see them. 

 

“ _ Mausi _ ,” Gilbert chirped, sliding across the wood floors on socked feet. “Did you have fun? No accidents?”

“Yes,” Ludwig said, taking his shoes off to leave by the door as well as his jacket. “I will show you. Come look, come look, come look.”

 

As Ludwig pulled Gilbert into the living room to unpack everything he had gathered along the way and to share the stories, Emme met Magnus halfway and gave him a kiss. Then she proceeded to wrap her arms and legs around him to koala his heat greedily. Just like always, he smelled like that delicious cologne of his, and a bit of that  _ delectable  _ beard oil he used. And he was very much indeed sporting a very thick but well-groomed beard at the moment, which he snuggled her nose into happily. 

 

Magnus chuckled, carrying her into the living room. “Oh, what a baby,” he muttered as he plopped heavily onto the couch next to Gilbert. “Shoulda brought a heavier coat if you guys were gonna be out all day!”

 

Emme just groaned at him and shifted to situate herself in his lap to watch Ludwig lazily.  

 

Ludwig sat on the ground with Sam, having just finished telling Gilbert about the fox and stone business. 

 

“-then I found the perfect stone for my painting. It is shaped exactly like a lemon, as I showed you. Also, a we heard a wolf howling, and Sam was very interested in it. Weren’t you, Sam? Did you like the wolf?” He asked softly, scratching under her chin. 

 

Sam’s tail flopped around happily, and she tilted her head back in a firm but careful ‘awoo’. Ludwig blinked, a toothy smile blossoming across his face. He tilted his head back as well and gave an ‘awoo’ of his own, much to the amusement and delight of the other three. 

 

Gilbert grabbed his chest dramatically, groaning and hunching over as if he were having a heart attack. “I  _ love _ my son,” he croaked. 

 

He leaned against the arm of the sofa, watching Ludwig and Sam trade quiet howls back and forth, until Ludwig was laughing happily and clapping his hands together. Every part of him wished that Lili was alive, here to see her son prospering the way she had always wished. He was growing to be exactly the young man Lili had always envisioned. At least, he  _ hoped _ Ludwig was. Having a child at 19 was the most terrifying experience of Gilbert’s life, but he wouldn’t have had a baby with anyone else. Lili had managed to calm his mind more than any tea, or parenting class, or even his own parents’ guiding words could. 

 

Plenty of nights they had laid together in their cheap apartment, and a very pregnant Lili would hold Gilbert’s head in her lap. The incense and colored candles lit. White for purity, truth, and peace. Purple for wisdom. She would stroke through his hair and tell him of all the dreams she had. Even before Ludwig had been born, she had visions of him breaking the barrier of imagination to go forward and beyond. An adventurer. A seeker of answers, with a unique boldness unprecedented. Lili spent such precious time spinning scenes into Gilbert’s head, of Ludwig sailing in paper boats on a river of the unknown, braving each wave with his head high. 

 

It was all Lili wanted, for their child to be curious, to be full of knowledge, but to be their own person. Gilbert had never been one to admit his own faults very easily, but he felt sometimes like he couldn’t do it. They were both young and dumb when Ludwig had been conceived, but Lili seemed to have a wisdom and calm that Gilbert could only ever hope to replicate. 

 

Sometimes, Gilbert swore he could feel Lili’s disappointment from wherever she was now. Sometimes, Gilbert was content to think that if it had been him instead of Lili that died, Ludwig would be somewhere so much better. Sometimes, Gilbert felt as though he could never give Ludwig what he needed. Raising a child, especially Ludwig, alone for the past 15 had been entirely more difficult than he could even begin to describe. 

 

But Emme...Emme was restoring Gilbert’s faith that Ludwig could find the essence of a mother. She instilled within Gilbert a confidence that Ludwig was growing into exactly the type of person Lili had always hoped. A mother’s love was invaluable to a child, to a young boy, and Ludwig not having that for the last 15 years was heartbreaking. Emme was the mother Ludwig had always needed, and to be honest, the mother Gilbert had always wanted for Ludwig. It wasn’t Lili, but Gilbert was moving past wanting the love of his life back. Ludwig very much had a mother in Emme, and that was more than Gilbert could have ever asked. 

 

Magnus laughed heartily, his head also thrown back. “What a good howl, Luddi!” He cheered. “Very good!” 

Emme slid down off of Magnus and onto the floor to ask Ludwig for a hug. “My lemon pop,” she crooned. “You make my heart sing happy joy songs.”

 

Ludwig, now bothered by everyone’s voice at the same time, only grunted at her and leaned away once he’d accepted her hug. Alright, that was quite enough now. He didn’t like everyone crooning at him like a baby, especially this close to the holidays. By now, he knew they were trying to butter him up for the miserable holiday card photos. He gathered his things and went to his room with Sam to get started on the lemon rock. Gilbert said his ‘goodnights’, yawning as he trudged off, obviously having been ready for bed for a hot minute. He had stayed up to make sure Ludwig and Emme got back alright, though.  

 

When they were gone, Emme popped back into Magnus’ lap, leaning against his chest. “So,” she murmured, once happily nested in his arms, “when are we having kids of our own?”

Magnus gave a chuckle, and it seemed only a  _ little _ bit nervous. “When I’m a little older than 30, at least,” he said. “And after we’re married.”

“Oh, of course. Just promise me you won’t  _ die  _ before then,” she said. “If you die before we get married, I’m breaking up with you.”

 

Magnus laughed at her and covered her in kisses until she was warm all over, invigorated from the infectious laughter and of the sheer joy of being in the company of people she called family. 


End file.
